lesson 2- the city Dionysia Flashcards
when was the city Dionysia festival held?
In March
What was the city dionysia?
a five day festival held in Athens in honour of Dionysus, the liberator
how long did the city dionysia festival last?
five days
who was the festival held in honour of?
Dionysus, the liberator
what do we mean when we say dionysus was a ‘trixie god’?
He had the ability to break boundaries between human and divine, male and female and even young and old- there was no surprise that he was considered the god of wine and theatre as oath was a way of pushing boundaries to reality.
why was the city dionysia festival held during late spring?
Dionysus was a god that encouraged new growth, so worshipping him in the spring was appropriate. Spring was also the start of the sailing season, which allowed the Athenians to show off their city and its festival to visitors from other parts of the Greek world.
what happened earlier in the year before the festival was held?
An Eponymous archon would be elected from the Athenian citizens
who was the Eponymous Archon and what was his responsibility?
a leading politician of Athens who was responsible for running the city dionysia. He had the responsibility of choosing playwrights and a group of men known as the ‘choregia’ who were responsible for putting on each of the plays including the sets, costumes and choruses. overall, he was responsible for organising the festival as a whole.
when did the preparations start?
preparations started during the summer of the preceding year. Any tragic playwright wishing to compete presented a synopsis of four plays (three tragedies and a satyr play)- the archon’s duties were to select a choregos for each playwright
what was the role of the Choregos?
the Choregos worked alongside the playwright and had the responsibility of supporting the play- he would be in charge of costumes, props, as well as creating a chorus.
where would the choregos be drawn from?
the city’s wealthy elite
what did a choregos need a lot of?
A choregos needed a lot of money to make success of the position- sometimes the choregos would enforce liturgies in order to pay for the plays- records tell us that in 410, choregos for tragedy spent 3,000 drachmas in 402 for comedy alone.
what would the choregos have to pay for?
The choregos paid for almost everything including costumes, props, masks, special effects, the payment for the chorus and their musicians. He also had to select the members of his chorus and provide them with food, a place to rehearse and possibly even accommodation.
what was the proagon?
an event which acted as a preview to the city dionysia festival
what happened a day or two before the festival began?
the proagon (pre-contest) was held in the odeon, a covered concert hall next to the theatre of Dionysus. In this ceremony, plays were announced and each playwright delivered a short synopsis; he might also introduce his choregos, actors and musicians, and have an actor read a short passage to give the audience a foretaste of the play.